The problems seem especially true in the public sector. The reasons for this are explored in the November 2008 IQ Report “Managing Employee Performance: Planning a Best Practice Approach,” written by Howard Risher, author and management consultant, Wayne, Pennsylvania.

Despite the widely recognized probelms and the many critics, there are organizations where performance management is a valued process that does contribute to improved performance. People in management positions clearly understand the importance of good performance and the value of their better performers.

They are also uncomfortable, if not angry, when they see poor performers who are allowed to disrupt or diminish the efforts of a work group. A common thread across these organizations is that the leaders have made performance a priority.

It’s also true, however, that when performance management practices are dysfunctional or ineffective, the performance system is rarely the core problem. Employee performance management cannot be isolated from other practices involved in the management of an organization; it does not occur in a vacuum. And it does not depend on forms or software. Effective performance management is a day-to-day management responsibility.

For more information on the IQ Report, visit bookstore.icma.org and search for item number E-43517.

Warning Signs of Violent Behavior

Past behaviors are the best predictors of future behaviors. Most acts of violence are preceded by symptoms or “road signs” reading “danger ahead.” As a result, a sensitive and trained supervisor will realize the need for proactive, early intervention before a serious incident occurs.

The “stop, interrupt, and correct” supervisory approach is an important defense against violence. Practitioner experience suggests the following behaviors as symptoms not to be overlooked:

• Direct or veiled threats of harm, especially against specific individuals.
• Intimidating, belligerent, harassing, bullying, or other inappropriate and aggressive behavior.
• Numerous conflicts with supervisors and other employees.
• Bringing a weapon to the workplace, brandishing a weapon in the workplace, making inappropriate references to guns, or a fascination with weapons.
• Statements showing a fascination with incidents of workplace violence, statements approving of the use of violence to resolve a problem, or statements identifying with perpetrators of workplace homicide.
• Statements of suicidal desperation (over family, financial, and other personal problems).
• Drug or alcohol abuse.
• Extreme changes in behavior.
• Romantic obsession.
• Hate-group membership.
• Chronic blaming, not accepting personal responsibility or constructive criticism, excessive complaining.

Many employees display one of these symptoms on any given day without any apparent harm to their functioning at work. The acute situations develop when an employee is demonstrating a constellation of multiple symptoms in a workplace environment dominated by a “toxic” management style. In the same manner that a binary chemical weapon explodes when otherwise inert ingredients react in the presence of a catalyst, the ingredients of workplace violence can also interact.

Sources: IQ Report, “Preventing Workplace Violence,” May 1999, published by ICMA, Washington, D.C.; checklist adapted from Dealing with Workplace Violence: A Guide for Agency Planners (Washington, D.C.: United States Office of Personnel Management, February 1998), pp. 17–18, www.opm.gov/Employment_and_Benefits/WorkLife/OfficialDocuments/handbooksguides/WorkplaceViolence/full.pdf.

Public Libraries

As part of ICMA’s sustainable communities work, a variety of resources are available, including the Management Perspective Local Government Managers and Public Libraries: Partners for a Better Community. Visit the Web site at ICMA.org/public_libraries.

ICMA is engaged in the Local Government and Public Libraries Partnership Initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

What Local Government Marketing Is

Local governments’ marketing initiatives characteristically suffer from a lack of management perspective. And they fail to benefit from the lessons that decades of marketing experience in the private sector have taught managers in business.

That result is, however, understandable. Because the term “marketing” has been used to cover a multitude of sins, it has not always been seen as requiring a great deal of knowledge or skill.

Some claim that even what a city’s letterhead or the sides of its police cars look like are important elements of its marketing, which leads many managers to trivialize marketing and grant it little respect. And the payoff in concrete results from such popular measures as logo design or slogan creation can be very hard to pin down.

Andy Levine, the head of a prominent public relations firm serving economic development agencies, in fact concludes that “the vast majority of place branding campaigns are off-target, poorly executed, and collectively wasting millions of dollars.”

One reason may be confusion about what marketing is. Marketing is not “communications,” since a city or county can communicate without achieving any marketing effect. It is not simply buying media at the behest of an advertising agency. It’s not being creative, achieving awareness, or making the public like you. Nor is it not producing art or entertainment.

All of the above are done in the name of marketing. All can contribute to its objectives. But none should be seen as the essence of marketing.

Marketing simply means creating, enhancing the value of, or retaining a customer. A customer is someone who will benefit you financially by paying you money—in this case mostly taxes—for what you have to offer. And that makes it a function of management. Marketing is management strategy.

Source: July 2008 IQ Report, “How to Evaluate (and Improve) Your Community’s Marketing,” published by ICMA, Washington, D.C. For more information, visit bookstore.icma.organd search for Item number E-43516.

Relationship Skills and Approaches That Effective Managers Use

• Take a personal interest in others.
• Offer help during a crisis.
• Honor the ego needs of others.
• Find a shared interest with colleagues.
• Clarify expectations.
• Listen carefully to learn the needs and agendas of others.
• Eat together.
• Earn trust by sharing credit, keeping confidences, and being trustworthy.
• Take the first step.
• Engage in joint training.
• Use humor.
• Make interactions authentic.

Source: IQ Report. 2007. “The Fine Art of Managing Relationships,” published by ICMA, Washington, D.C. (For information, visit bookstore.icma.org.)

ICMA Center for Performance Measurement

ICMA Center for Performance Measurement helps local governments deliver results that matter in challenging times. ICMA staff members work with communities to collect, clean, and report data in 15 service areas and help to conduct rigorous citizen surveys. Budget and policy decisions are results based, and local governments have implementation tools. For more information, visit www.icma.org/performance.

Local Government Managers and Libraries: Partners for a Better Community

The ICMA Management Perspective “Local Government Managers and Libraries: Partners for a Better Community,” which is available free from ICMA at Web sitehttp://icma.org/public_libraries, highlights the value that libraries can bring to a community, including:

• Serving as a civic and economic anchor that attracts businesses and patrons to transitional neighborhoods.
• Providing a cultural center that fosters community and civic engagement and offers services to hard-to-reach populations such as teenagers, immigrants, and senior residents.
• Providing Internet access for those without computers in a world that requires online transactions and communications for jobs, schools, and social services.
• Offering online databases and supports for start-up businesses and a developing workforce.

ICMA received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in July 2007 to support the development of related tools and resources for local government managers. It also provides support for the establishment of a member-based advisory committee that will build city, town, and county managers’ awareness of the critical role public libraries play in supporting community vitality and sustainability, as well as the important leadership role managers have in supporting libraries.

ICMA Center for Performance Measurement

The ICMA Center for Performance Measurement (CPM) helps local governments with evidence-based decision making. ICMA’s Comparative Performance Measurement Program currently assists more than 220 cities and counties in the United States and Canada with the collection, analysis, and application of performance information. Visit icma.org/performance for more information or to join. 

311

Visit http://icma.org/311, ICMA National Study of 311 and Customer Service Technology, for case studies and other resources on centralized customer service systems.

A Budgeting Guide for Local Government, 2nd Edition

Of all the tools available to reshape your organization’s policies and procedures, the budget offers the most accessible and efficient vehicle for innovation. A Budgeting Guide for Local Government, 2nd Edition (2007, Item number 43470) shows how your budget office will use its analytical capabilities to create outcomes that match the community’s vision. A Revenue Guide for Local Government, 2nd Edition (2005, 235 pages, Item number 43305) will help you find the right balance for your community among various revenue sources and set reasonable expectations for tax reform. Order individually or as a set.

Capital Budgeting and Finance

Capital Budgeting and Finance: A Guide for Local Governments (2004, Paperback, Item number 42983) is the only book that completely focuses on capital projects and lays out all the steps, from selecting capital projects to planning how to pay for the projects, to structuring and selling debts.More information on these publications can be viewed at the ICMA Bookstore at bookstore.icma.org. No shipping and handling charges for downloadable e-documents. Secure ordering is available online or call ICMA’s distribution center at 800/745-8780. Information available on ICMA publications at icma.org/press.

Sustainable Communities

ICMA’s Sustainable Communities leadership initiative is a comprehensive series of programs and resources designed to help city and county managers chart an environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable course for their communities. For more information, contact ICMA at 202/289-ICMA, or visit ICMA online at www.icma.org.

Media Relations

Good media relations boil down to the following actions for managers, assistants, and department heads when deciding how to deal with the media:

• Be sure your organization has a strategic plan. Put it into an understandable format using handouts and wall displays.
• Develop a communication strategy. Make it part of the strategic plan.
• Make sure your information office or officer is fully informed about the strategic plan and communication strategy.
• Make sure your information office or officer is well acquainted with local media personnel and circumstances.

Source: IQ Report, 1999. “Media Relations: The Manager’s Role,” published by ICMA, Washington, D.C. (For report information, visit bookstore.icma.org.)
 

Relationship Skills and Approaches That Effective Managers Use

• Take a personal interest in others.
• Offer help during a crisis.
• Honor the ego needs of others.
• Find a shared interest with colleagues.
• Clarify expectations.
• Listen carefully to learn the needs and agendas of others.
• Eat together.
• Earn trust by sharing credit, keeping confidences, and being trustworthy.
• Take the first step.
• Engage in joint training.
• Use humor.
• Make interactions authentic.

Source: IQ Report. 2007. “The Fine Art of Managing Relationships,” published by ICMA, 

Look to ICMA for Resources on Disaster Preparedness

 What skills does a manager need to do a credible job of consensus building? The following skills are key:

Maintain neutrality. To build consensus, particularly when the issue is controversial, the consensus builder must be perceived as neutral. The consensus builder must not be seen as already tied to a perspective.

Listen and reframe. Consensus building requires skillful listening. One has to be able to hear what is being said and not said. The points that participants hold in common must be emphasized. Furthermore, the consensus builder must be able to integrate several perspectives into a single, broader perspective that everyone can accept.

Resolve conflicts. Consensus processes involve ongoing conflict resolution at some level. In some cases, these are just perceived conflicts that a little dialogue resolves. In other cases, substantive differences in institutional self-interest must be resolved. The consensus builder must be skilled at assisting parties in identifying their long-term self-interests, what solutions they must have, what solutions they can live with, and what elements they can do without. A truly skilled consensus builder can facilitate the process so that a higher degree of trust and skill results. Practice sequencing, and build agreement. This skill involves finding initial points of agreement, seeking expansions, maintaining goal focus, identifying points that can wait until later, and developing actions to build trust. This is the fine art of recognizing when to push for agreement and when to back off and come back another day.

Source: October 2004 IQ Report, Consensus Building: Keys to Success, published by ICMA, Washington, D.C.

From ICMA’s Municipal Management Series comes the book Managing Fire and Rescue Services. It covers the nuts and bolts of department management, legal issues, cost containment and cost recovery, alternative delivery systems, labor-management relations, code administration and enforcement, and integrated emergency management (2002, Municipal Management Series, 538 pages, hardback, Item number 42810, $49.95).

Local Government Police Management, fourth edition is a revision of ICMA’s classic police management reference, includes new coverage of such cutting-edge issues as terrorism and community security, leadership and managing change, setting standards and measuring performance, information management and technological innovations, and strengthening police-community partnerships. (2003, Municipal Management Series, 620 pages, hardback, Item number 42833, $49.95).

Disaster Readiness and Response InfoPak is a compilation of articles on preparing for and responding to emergencies, natural and man-made disasters, and security threats. (2004, 140 pages, ICMA InfoPak, hard copy, Item number 43082, $40.00).

ICMA’s IQ Reports, Available as Downloadable E-documents

EMS in Critical Condition: Meeting the Challenge is designed to give community leaders insight into the challenges facing EMS providers. (2005, 16 pages, IQ Report, hard copy, Item number 43338, $16.95; downloadable e-document, Item number E-43338, $14.95).

Wireless E-91-1 focuses on how wireless E 9-1-1 works; the steps local governments must take to obtain and implement wireless E 9-1-1; how to coordinate with local telephone companies, wireless providers, and community stakeholders; the necessary resources, training, and public outreach to implement wireless E 9-1-1; and federal and state regulations and resources. (2004, 16 pages, IQ Report, hard copy, Item number 43035, $16.95; downloadable e-document, Item number E-43212, $14.95).

Managing the Threat of Terrorism explores what communities can do to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks using both traditional and nontraditional methods of dealing with disasters (2002, 20 pages, IQ Report, hard copy, Item number 42671, $16.95; downloadable e-document, Item number E-43032, $14.95).

Crisis Communication for Local Government Managers details 10 steps to effective crisis communications. A mini-case study, a worksheet for developing crisis messages, and a resources list also are included (2003, 20 pages, IQ Report, Hard copy, Item number 42792, $16.95; Downloadable E-document, Item number E-43056, $14.95).

Information and Communications Technology for Public Safety report describes information and telecommunications technologies that have applications for public safety (2000, 19 pages, IQ Report, hard copy, Item number 42560, $16.95; downloadable e-document, Item number E-43009, $14.95).

Developing an Emergency Operations Center is for any jurisdiction considering developing its own emergency operations center (1998, 12 pages, IQ Report, hard copy, Item number 42350, $16.95; downloadable e-document Item number E-43057, $14.95).

More information on these publications can be viewed at ICMA’s Bookstore&More Web site, at bookstore.icma.org. No shipping and handling charges for downloadable e-documents. Secure ordering is available online, or call ICMA’s distribution center at 800/745-8780.

Look to ICMA

Information on resources that ICMA offers.

Attaining a Wise Outcome: Problem-Solving for Public Officials. Handbook on improving problem-solving skills for managers. Ten case studies and a framework for problem resolution. (Written and designed by Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, distributed by ICMA.) Paperback. 2002. 80 pages. Item No. 42808. Price: $35.00.

INSTRUCTOR'S GUIDE-Attaining a Wise Outcome: Problem-Solving for Public Officials E-Document. How to structure a class or group discussion using Attaining a Wise Outcome. Includes the Values Confrontation Game. (Written and designed by Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, distributed by ICMA.) Downloadable file. 2002. 12 pages. Item No. E-42899. Price: $10.00.

The Effective Local Government Manager, 3rd edition. Discusses the multifaceted leadership role of local public executives. Paperback. 2004. 288 pages. Item No. 43069. Price: $46.00.

ICMA Emerging Leaders Program

ICMA is looking for future managers for the ICMA Emerging Leaders Program.

• Are you in the early stages of your career?
• Do you want professional development tailored to your own interests and ambitions?

ICMA's program targets early-career issues: priority setting, effective communication, career strategies, skill development, supervisory training, leadership opportunities, and much more. Send an e-mail to university@icma.org to receive details on this professional development opportunity.

Look to ICMA For Resources to Boost the Efficiency of Your Police Department

Here are some publications that could prove useful to managers as they tackle police management resource decisions involving accountability, problem solving, and citizen involvement.

Local Government Police Management, 4th ed., edited by William A. Geller and Darrel W. Stephens, provides information for the local government administrator and police executive on managing basic police services (2003, Municipal Management Series, 620 pages, hardback, Item number 42833, $49.95).

Benchmarking: A Method for Achieving Superior Performance in Fire and Emergency Medical Services explains how fire and emergency medical services can use benchmarking to make improvements and to keep pace with changes (1993, MIS Report, 23 pages, hard copy, Item number 40790, $16.95).

Community Policing in Action explores case studies from Winchester, Virginia, and Takoma Park, Maryland, describing the community-oriented public safety programs that each city has initiated and discussing problems and results (2003, IQ Report, 20 pages, hard copy, Item number 42865, $16.95; IQ Report, e-document, downloadable file, Item number E-43064, $14.95).

Performance Measurement in Law Enforcement discusses performance measurement as a way to evaluate the police department's success in meeting community needs (1995, MIS Report, 17 pages, hard copy, Item number 41042, $16.95).

Police Accountability: Establishing an Early Warning System describes early warning systems used by local governments as a tool to curb police misconduct, enhance police accountability, and improve community relations (2000, IQ Report, 12 pages, hard copy, Item number 42606, $16.95; IQ Report e-document, downloadable file, Item number E-43016, $14.95).

More information on these publications can be viewed at ICMA's Bookstore & More, at bookstore.icma.org. Secure ordering is available online, or call ICMA's distribution center at 1-800/745-8780.

Reports on Collaboration and Project Management

Successful Project Management in Local Government. This report defines a project in local government terms, identifies potential pitfalls, describes selected project management tools, and discusses various strategies that are integral to successful project management. IQ Report. 2004. Hard Copy. 20 pages. Item 43036 $16.95; Downloadable E-Document E-43213 $14.95.

Collaboration Across Boundaries: The Basics for Change. Describes successful collaborative efforts within and between local governments, the basics to establish a collaborative framework, potential obstacles to collaboration, and how to start and maintain a successful collaborative effort. IQ Report. Hard Copy. 2004. 20 pages. Item 43037 Price: $16.95; Downloadable E-Document E-43214 Price: $14.95.

Visit ICMA's online bookstore on the Web site at bookstore.icma.org for resources on collabation, as well as for other management resources.

Finance Books

Visit the Web site at bookstore.icma.org for more details on these books and periodicals on the subject of finance:

Doing More with Less InfoPak (Item no. 43080), $40.00.

Evaluating Financial Condition: A Handbook for Local Government. 2003. (Item no. 42856), $65.00.

Fiscal Distress: Prescriptions for Good Management in Bad Times." IQ Report. 1993. Available as a printed report (Item no. 42866), $16.95, or as a downloadable e-document (Item no. E-43065), $14.95.

Management Policies in Local Government Finance, 5th ed. 2004. (Item no. 43062), $49.95.

Capital Budgeting and Finance: A Guide for Local Governments. 2004. (Item no. 42983), $65.00.

Budget Shortfalls: How Some Local Governments Are Responding. Special Data Issue, based on ICMA's 2003 survey on reinventing government. Covers nine options for dealing with budget shortfalls. 2004. Available as a printed report (Item no. 43058) or as a downloadable e-document (Item no. E-43164), $29.75. 

Building Energy Codes

Because buildings—through their use of heat, air conditioning, and electricity—use a significant amount of the nation’s energy, improvements in the energy efficiency of the nation’s building stock can significantly reduce energy use in the United States. Energy codes were developed as a way to foster this reduction.

Because most new construction and renovation is regulated by federal, state, or local construction codes, implementation of energy building codes offers a way to improve building energy efficiency by requiring subjected construction to meet certain energy efficiency standards. Local governments’ adoption and enforcement of energy codes will create energy savings for their residents and businesses, as well as yield many environmental benefits.

The National Energy Policy Act (EPAct), signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in 1992, determined that the 1992 Model Energy Code was the most energy-efficient standard for residential construction then available and required states to determine if it was appropriate to revise their energy codes to meet or exceed it.The base code changes as the Department of Energy (DOE) determines that subsequent codes improve energy efficiency.

Since 1992, many states have adopted this or newer versions (1995 MEC; 2000 or 2003 IECC, for instance).Typically, the energy code adopted by communities is the MEC, which is now published and maintained by the International Code Council as the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).The IECC contains energy-efficiency criteria for new residential and commercial buildings and additions to existing buildings. It covers the building’s ceilings, walls, and floors/foundations and the mechanical, lighting, and power systems.

Since 1991, investment in the DOE’s Building Energy Codes Program has resulted in cumulative energy cost savings exceeding $7.435 billion.The efforts have improved the energy efficiency of nearly 4.7 billion square feet of new commercial floor space and nearly 5.4 million homes.Every $1 spent on the Building Energy Codes Program has yielded more than $157 in annual energy savings. DOE has many resources to help local governments understand and implement energy codes for their communities.

RESOURCES

Because the application of energy codes to new construction and to the renovation of residential and commercial buildings is universally recognized as the easiest and most cost-effective way to help consumers save energy and money, DOE gives free technical assistance to states and local jurisdictions to promote the adoption, implementation, and enforcement of residential building energy codes. Here are some examples:

COMPLIANCE MATERIALS

DOE supplies easy-to-use code compliance materials to help building professionals comply with code requirements. Check these Web sites for more information:

• Residential Code Compliance Tools ( http://www.energycodes.gov/rescheck/index.stm ).
• Commercial Code Compliance Tools ( http://www.energycodes.gov/comcheck/index.stm ).

TRAINING MATERIALS

Training tools ( http://www.energycodes.gov/training/index.stm ) have been developed to support energy-code training activities throughout the country.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• State-Shared Resources ( http://www.energycodes.gov/implement/state_library/state_materials.stm ).
• DOE Status of State Energy Codes ( http://www.energycodes.gov/implement/state_codes/index.stm ).
• Building Code Assistance Project (BCAP) (www.bcapenergy. org).
• States Receiving DOE Technical Assistance ( http://www.energycodes.gov/implement/doe_assist_states.stm ).
• State Technical Assistance Reports ( http://www.energycodes.gov/implement/tech_assist_reports.stm ). 

Steps to Take Before Recommending Discipline

For any event that may give rise to discipline, the manager should:

• Interview each eyewitness.
• Collect and safeguard any original documents that may be relevant, and make copies for legal counsel.
• Collect such physical evidence as broken equipment or an altered time card, and store it securely. Make sure that clear records of the chain of custody (the people who had access to the evidence) are maintained in order to protect against claims later on that evidence was tampered with or manufactured.
• Examine what discipline has been imposed on other employees who have committed the same or substantially similar acts of misconduct.
• Interview the employee (in the presence of a union representative if Weingarten is applicable) to determine whether there are any mitigating circumstances or considerations specific to the employee that should be taken into account.
• Confront the employee with the charges and the evidence, giving him or her an opportunity to respond or explain before discipline is imposed.
• Consult with counsel about the investigation if the charges are likely to be serious and contested.
• If the conduct also is subject to a criminal prosecution, collect all court documents before they are sealed as part of a plea bargain arrangement. Time may be of the essence in getting access to witness affidavits that are part of the arrest warrant, for example.

Source: Human Resource Management in Local Government, An Essential Guide, published by ICMA, Washington, D.C., 1999.

For Resources on Disaster Preparedness

From ICMA’s Municipal Management Series comes the book Managing Fire and Rescue Services. It covers the nuts and bolts of department management, legal issues, cost containment and cost recovery, alternative delivery systems, labor-management relations, code administration and enforcement, and integrated emergency management (2002, Municipal Management Series, 538 pages, hardback, Item number 42810, $49.95).

ICMA’S IQ REPORTS, AVAILABLE AS DOWNLOADABLE E-DOCUMENTS:

Managing the Threat of Terrorism explores what communities can do to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks using both traditional and nontraditional methods of dealing with disasters (2002, 20 pages, IQ Report, hard copy, Item number 42671, $16.96; downloadable e-document, Item number E-43032, $14.95).

Crisis Communication for Local Government Managers details 10 steps to effective crisis communications. A mini-case study, a worksheet for developing crisis messages, and a resources list also are included (2003, 20 pages, IQ Report, Hard copy, Item number 42792, $16.95; Downloadable E-document, Item number E-43056, $14.95).

Information and Communications Technology for Public Safety report describes information and telecommunications technologies that have applications for public safety (2000, 19 pages, IQ Report, hard copy, Item number 42560, $16.95; downloadable e-document, Item number E-43009, $14.95).

Developing an Emergency Operations Center is for any jurisdiction considering developing its own emergency operations center (1998, 12 pages, IQ Report, hard copy, Item number 42350, $16.95; downloadable e-document Item number E-43057, $14.95).

More information on these publications can be viewed at ICMA’s Bookstore&More Web site, at bookstore.icma.org. No shipping and handling charges for downloadable e-documents. Secure ordering is available online, or call ICMA’s distribution center at 800/745-8780.

Communication Behaviors to Avoid During a Crisis

Handling challenging crisis communications effectively requires self-awareness, self-confidence, and good interpersonal communication skills. Becoming aware of your thoughts, feelings, and internal dialogue before delivering a crisis communication can help prevent you from losing control of your emotions and being blind-sided or manipulated by others, and it builds your confidence in your communication skills.

• Don’t tell people how they should feel. Avoid: 
  – “We understand how you feel.” 
  – “I know what you are going through.”
• Don’t offer unrealistic reassurance. Avoid: 
  – “Everything is going to be okay.”
• Don’t use technical terms and jargon.
• Don’t over- or underestimate the problem.
• Don’t say, “No comment.” Say you will get back to them, and then do so even if you still don’t have an answer.
• Don’t blame anyone for anything.
• Don’t violate the privacy of citizens.
• Don’t make judgments.
• Don’t use sarcasm or try to be humorous. But if something humorous occurs, it can relieve tension.
• Don’t give verbal or nonverbal double messages.
• Don’t become defensive.
• Don’t allow yourself to be baited.

Source: December 2002 IQ Report, Crisis Communication for Local Government Managers (Item number 42792), published by the International City/County Management Association, Washington, D.C.

Look to ICMA for Strategies for Challenging Economic Times

Here are publications that could prove useful to mangers as they involve citizens in their communities’ budget processes:

ICMA’s paperback book Marketing Your Budget: Creative Ways to Engage Citizens in the Bottom Line (1997, 200 pp., Item no. 42273, $38) contains case studies that show how to use the budget process to win public support for tough budget choices.

ICMA’s MIS Report on Talking with Citizens About Money (1997, 9 pp., Item no. 42274, $16.95) discusses involving citizens in responsible decision making on financial matters.

More information on these publications can be viewed at ICMA’s Bookstore&More, at bookstore.icma.org. Secure ordering is available online, or call ICMA’s distribution center at 800/745-8780.

Enhance Your Credibility

Even when you are absolutely truthful, many listeners concentrate less on what you’re saying than on how you’re saying it and come to the incorrect conclusion that you are not being honest. That’s why it’s important to avoid nonverbal signals that could inadvertently suggest that you’re being less than truthful.

Honest speakers make a lot of eye contact. In fact, speakers rated by listeners as “sincere” engage in three times more eye contact than “insincere” speakers. In an excessive effort to avoid looking shifty, liars often will maintain an unnatural stare that simply lasts too long. Because unbroken eye contact can make other people feel anxious, blink or glance away from your counterpart in a natural manner. On the other hand, don’t go overboard in your desire to avoid a glassy stare. While truth-telling adults blink approximately 15 times per minute, Richard Nixon blinked up to 40 times per minute during the first Watergate press conference.

People who are telling the truth typically keep their hands relaxed and their palms exposed; people who are lying often conceal the palms of their hands. Covering your mouth while talking suggests lying, and covering your mouth while listening means you dislike what you’re hearing. It’s always a good idea to keep your hands away from your face in stressful situations.

There really is something called the Pinocchio syndrome. Stress can cause delicate nerves in the face to tingle, so you can send inadvertent signals of dishonesty by rubbing your eyes, scratching your nose, or stroking your chin while speaking. Again, keep your hands away from your face.

The same nervous-system response that makes your nose itch can also change the consistency of saliva. An  aroused (or dishonest) speaker often has a dry mouth and may frequently lick his or her lips, swallow, or clear his or her throat when speaking. Keep a glass of water on hand when you’re making a stressful presentation.

Source: April 2002 InQuiry Service Report, Managing Community Meetings, published by the International City/County Management Association, Washington, D.C.

Managing Special Events: Tips to Save You Headaches

• If numerous events take place in your jurisdiction each year, consider forming a working or resource group of representatives of existing events. This will help coordinate schedules and information and will also generate opportunities for groups to market and promote events cooperatively.
• If road races, either on foot or by bicycle, are popular in your community, consider restricting the use of a given route to one event per year, or restricting the use of the same sections of any road used in separate races to a maximum of twice per year. That way, residents and businesses will not be inconvenienced numerous times throughout the year.
• Prepare a special-events contact list so that event organizers can easily reach the people who can help them with various permits and requirements. The list should include local, county, and state contacts of any agency that may have a part in a special event.
• Along with an approved permit, use a letter of understanding or a contract to spell out all provisions the permit holder must meet, as Put a concise description of event permit requirements on your community’s Web site. This will give applicants a good idea of what is expected and can guide them to the correct person or office to work with.

Source: IQ Report, Managing Special Events (2003), published by ICMA, Washington, D.C.

Look to ICMA for Resources on Disaster Preparedness

ICMA’s Municipal Management Series includes the book Managing Fire and Rescue Services, which covers the nuts and bolts of department management, cost containment and cost recovery, alternative delivery systems, labor-management relations, code administration and enforcement, and integrated emergency management (2002, 538 pages, hardback, Item number 42810, $49.95).Visit ICMA’s online bookstore at bookstore.icma.org. Key in “disaster preparedness” or “emergency management” in the search box for a list of more ICMA resources. Or, search ICMA’s e-library at icma.org for “emergency management” documents.

ICMA’s IQ Reports, available as downloadable E-documents:

Managing the Threat of Terrorism explores what communities can do to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks using both traditional and nontraditional methods of dealing with disasters (2002, 20 pages, IQ Report, hard copy, Item number 42671, $16.96; downloadable e-document, Item number E-43032, $14.95).

Crisis Communication for Local Government Managers details 10 steps to effective crisis communications. A mini-case study, a worksheet for developing crisis messages, and a resources list also are included (2003, 20 pages, IQ Report, Hard copy, Item number 42792, $16.95; Downloadable E-document, Item number E-43056, $14.95).

Information and Communications Technology for Public Safety report describes information and telecommunications technologies that have applications for public safety (2000, 19 pages, IQ Report, hard copy, Item number 42560, $16.95; downloadable e-document, Item number E-43009, $14.95).

Developing an Emergency Operations Center is for any jurisdiction considering developing its own emergency operations center (1998, 12 pages, IQ Report, hard copy, Item number 42350, $16.95; downloadable e-document Item number E-43057, $14.95).

More information on these publications can be viewed at ICMA’s Bookstore&More Web site, at bookstore.icma.org. No shipping and handling charges for downloadable e-documents. Secure ordering is available online, or call ICMA’s distribution center at 800/745-8780.

Look to ICMA for Resources to Boost the Efficiency of Your Police Department

Here are some publications that could prove useful to managers as they tackle police management resource decisions involving accountability, problem solving, and citizen involvement.

Local Government Police Management, 4th ed., edited by William A. Geller and Darrel W. Stephens, provides information for the local government administrator and police executive on managing basic police services (2003, Municipal Management Series, 620 pages, hardback, Item number 42833, $49.95).

Benchmarking: A Method for Achieving Superior Performance in Fire and Emergency Medical Services explains how fire and emergency medical services can use benchmarking to make improvements and to keep pace with changes (1993, MIS Report, 23 pages, hard copy, Item number 40790, $16.95).

Community Policing in Action explores case studies from Winchester, Virginia, and Takoma Park, Maryland, describing the community-oriented public safety programs that each city has initiated and discussing problems and results (2003, IQ Report, 20 pages, hard copy, Item number 42865, $16.95; IQ Report, e-document, downloadable file, Item number E-43064, $14.95).

Performance Measurement in Law Enforcement discusses performance measurement as a way to evaluate the police department's success in meeting community needs (1995, MIS Report, 17 pages, hard copy, Item number 41042, $16.95).

Police Accountability: Establishing an Early Warning System describes early warning systems used by local governments as a tool to curb police misconduct, enhance police accountability, and improve community relations (2000, IQ Report, 12 pages, hard copy, Item number 42606, $16.95; IQ Report e-document, downloadable file, Item number E-43016, $14.95).

More information on these publications can be viewed at ICMA’s Bookstore & More, at bookstore.icma.org. Secure ordering is available online, or call ICMA’s distribution center at 1-800/745-8780.

The CD-ROM Local Government Environmental Toolkit provides resources on a variety of environmental challenges that local government officials face, including air quality, brownfields redevelopment, smart growth, solid waste management, and wastewater treatment. Produced by ICMA, the CD-ROM is available for free. For more information, visithttp://lgean.org/html/whatsnew.cfm?id=651.

Checklist for Crisis Communications Planning

• How is information gathered?
• Where is collected information stored?
• How is information disseminated: by which methods and through which channels?
• How will citizens and the media be informed of a crisis?
• Which are appropriate communication methods for contacting stakeholders?
• How are non-English-speaking stakeholders, the elderly, and people with disabilities contacted?
• Who should be crisis spokespersons and backup spokespersons?
• What are employees’ communication responsibilities?
• Who are contact persons and backups for each stakeholder group?
• What is the process for determining which and when information will be released?
• How do employees contact their supervisor or designated representative?
• How do stakeholders contact the city during a crisis?
• What are the templates for developing accurate, consistent, credible messages?
• What are the core background messages on basic organizational processes?
• Who analyzes the overall impact of the crisis on the city from a systems perspective?
• How will critical-incident-stress debriefings be offered for employees and stakeholders?

Source: December 2002 IQ Report, Crisis Communication for Local Government Managers (Item number 42792), published by the International City/County Management Association, Washington, D.C.

Strategies for Fiscal Survival

Here are publications that could prove useful to managers as they tackle challenging economic times and budget processes.I

CMA’s latest IQ Reports (also available as downloadable e-documents) include:

Fiscal Distress: Prescriptions for Good Management in Bad Times is a collection of seven case studies illustrating strategies for reducing costs, maintaining service levels in the face of financial crisis, and winning citizen approval for tax and fee increases (2003, 16 pages, Hard copy (Item number 42866), $16.95; Downloadable E-document (Item number E-43065), $14.95).

Bulletproof RFPS details how to avoid RFP disasters—failed projects, massive cost overruns, and unanticipated results. Includes examples and templates from state and local governments (2003, 20 pages, Hard copy (Item number 42867), $16.95; Downloadable E-document (Item number E-43066), $14.95).

ICMA’s paperback book Economic Development: Strategies for State and Local Practice is a comprehensive treatment of local economic development. Covers theory, tools, business attraction and retention, business creation, influence of high technology and education, and how to understand and evaluate development readiness (2003, 216 pages, Item number 42722, $36.00).

Evaluating Financial Condition: A Handbook for Local Government, fourth edition, revised by Karl Nollenberger; original text by Sanford M. Groves and Maureen Godsey Valente, is a completely revised edition of ICMA’s classic book on building fiscal sustainability. It was developed in close cooperation with the Government Finance Officers Association and management practitioners. The handbook reflects changes brought to public finance by GASB Statements 34 and 27, as well as the experience of local governments over the past two decades.

The handbook identifies both key quantifiable indicators and selected environmental and organizational factors that must be considered as part of a truly comprehensive evaluation of a local government’s financial condition. The handbook also offers valuable suggestions on how to interpret these indicators and factors (2003, 225 pages, Special Report, Item number 42856, $65.00).

The IndiKit: The Municipal Financial Indicators Evaluation Kit E-Document is a special supplement to Evaluating Financial Condition. The IndiKit is an electronic document only available online for downloading. It provides a means for obtaining a snapshot of the local municipal financial status, with an easy-to-use format for gathering multiyear data that instantly calculates a number of distinctive ratios that can be used to analyze where the local government is headed based on the practices of the past five years (2003, PDF file and Excel file, Downloadable File E-document number E-43127, $40.00).

More information on these publications can be viewed at ICMA’s Bookstore&More, at bookstore.icma.org. No shipping and handling charges for downloadable E-documents. Secure ordering is available online, or call ICMA’s distribution center at 800/745-8780.

Homeland Security

ICMA has released the new book Homeland Security: Best Practices for Local Government, edited by Roger L. Kemp (Washington, D.C.: International City/County Management Association, 2003; Item number 42858). Kemp is the city manager of Meriden, Connecticut. Homeland Security is a collection of contributions from public safety professionals involved in all phases of emergency management—mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery, and more. Read an excerpt about this array of best practices that has emerged in homeland security at bookstore.icma.org.

Crisis Communication for Local Government Managers, 2003, 20 pages, InQuiry Report (Item number 42792), $16.95; E-document (E-43056), $14.95.

Managing the Threat of Terrorism, 2002, 20 pages, InQuiry Report (Item number 42671), $16.95; E-document (E-43032), $14.95.

Developing an Emergency Operations Center, 1998, 12 pages. InQuiry Report (Item number 42350), $16.95; E-document (E-43057), $14.95.

Disaster Management InfoPak, 2001, 150 pages, ICMA InfoPak (Item number 42742), $40.00.

Managing Fire and Rescue Services, 2002, 538 pages, Municipal Management Series (Item number 42810), $49.95; Self-study course. Municipal Management Series, Hardback and Self-study guide (42813), $85.95.

Homeland Security Directory. Public Technology, Inc. (PTI), Washington, D.C., has developed a Tech Monitor Homeland Security Directory, which is an online directory accessible without charge from PTI’s Web site at www.pti.org. It can help localities find and compare companies and their products and technology services. For information, check the Web site or contact Sofia Siad at ssiad@pti.org; phone, 202/626-2426.

Visit ICMA’s Bookstore&More at bookstore.icma.org for a full description of publications on homeland security. They can be ordered online or by phone from ICMA’s distribution center at 1-800/745-8780.

Finance and Budgeting Resources

Evaluating Financial Condition: A Handbook for Local Government, fourth edition, 2003, 225 pages, Special report (Item number 42856), $65.00.

Economic Development: Strategies for State and Local Practice, 2003, 216 pages, Special report (Item number 42722), $36.00.

Budgeting: A Guide for Local Governments, 1997, 230 pages, Paperback (Item number 42193), $36.00; Self-study course: text and study guide (Item number 42291), $72.00.

Ideas in Action: A Guide to Local Government Innovation. Annual subscription, four issues (Item number 42754), $79.00.

Marketing Your Budget, Creative Ways to Engage Citizens in the Bottom Line, 1997, 220 pages, Paperback (Item number 42273), $38.00.

Management Policies in Local Government Finance, fourth edition, 1996, 450 pages, Municipal Management Series, Hardback (Item number 42066), $42.95; Self-study course: text and study guide (Item number 43001), $78.95.

Capital Budgeting and Finance: A Guide for Local Governments. New book to be published by ICMA in October 2003.

More information on these publications can be viewed at ICMA’s Bookstore& More Web site at bookstore.icma.org. Secure ordering is available online or call ICMA’s distribution center at 800/745-8780.

Managers Report Improvements in Their Relationships with Council

Twenty-six percent of managers and administrators reported that their relationships with their councils or governing boards had improved, according to ICMA’s 2002 State of the Profession-Fringe Benefits survey. More than 2,700 (45.0%) managers and administrators in municipalities and counties responded to the survey.
Here are some highlights of the survey results:

• 7.2 years is the average tenure for managers and administrators in their current positions, a slight increase from 6.9 years in the 2000 survey.
• The average manager/administrator has been in the local government profession for approximately 18.5 years, an increase from 17.4 in the 2000 survey.
• 67% of managers and administrators are “highly satisfied” with their positions.
• 60% of reporting managers and administrators have an M.P.A., M.B.A., or other graduate degree.

Among the issues identified as most important to local governments in the coming year were:

• Finding creative ways to generate new revenues (78.3% reported).
• Providing health coverage for local government employees (65.6% reported).
• Providing economic incentives to attract new business (59.6% reported).
• Repairing or replacing aging and deteriorating infrastructure (55.5% reported).

Aggregate results of the 2000 and 2002 State of the Profession surveys are available at ICMA’s Web site, icma.org, in the survey results section.

Brownfields

ICMA has facilitated several brownfields peer exchanges in which experienced “mentor” communities are paired with “protégé” communities that have requested assistance on specific aspects of brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. During the peer exchanges, ICMA conducts research on the obstacles facing communities in redeveloping brownfields, identifies successful strategies and methods that communities have employed in overcoming these obstacles, and offers brownfields practitioners an opportunity to share their experiences with peers.

ICMA brownfields researchers document the topics addressed between mentor and protégé communities and detail the ideas shared on how to address the topics so that other brownfields practitioners can learn from the experiences of the peer exchange. For example, Partners in Planning Strategies from the 2001 Brownfields Peer Exchange documents four exchanges conducted in 2001. These were two of them:

• Camden, New Jersey, was matched as mentor to Gary, Indiana, in order to discuss community outreach, environmental justice, and job training.

• Indianapolis, Indiana, was matched as a mentor to concord, North Carolina, to discuss engaging the community and private sector in the brownfields redevelopment process, redeveloping brownfields as greenspace, and integrating brownfields into a city’s overall planning and development strategy.

To order ICMA Brownfields Peer Exchange publications online, visit Bookstore&More at Web site bookstore.icma.org (see item numbers 42803, 42620, and 42474). Or contact ICMA’s Distribution Center at 1-800/745-8780.

Gray and Green Infrastructure

The physical framework of a community is called its infrastructure. Decisions about the composition of infrastructure are the key to producing greener communities. A community’s infrastructure can be divided into two types, green and gray. A healthy balance between gray and green elements of infrastructure must be formalized in the local government’s policies and procedures.

A community’s green infrastructure is made up of trees, shrubs, open spaces, and soils, while gray infrastructure consists of roads, sidewalks, buildings, and utilities. Structure and functions of gray and green infrastructure are extremely different. Green infrastructure is porous: it allows water to soak into soil. It is called green because it hosts living plant material, the largest of which is trees.

The process underlying all benefits is the work that trees do to convert the sun’s radiant energy into carbohydrates during photosynthesis. The reaction pulls carbon from the air, builds plant material, improves the soil, and cools the air. The tree canopy in a community provides the foundation for a healthy ecosystem.

Gray infrastructure is the man-made structures that facilitate transportation, provide housing, and offer services such as water, energy, and telecommunications. Gray infrastructure is impervious and inert. When impervious surfaces dominate, as they do in most communities today, their interference with natural cycles of air and water becomes a costly problem.

Impervious surfaces repel water, causing flooding, lowering water quality, and raising the cost of stormwater management. Gray infrastructure gets hot on hot summer days and holds its heat late into the evening. Heat reflected or released by buildings and streets leads to more use of air conditioning, over a longer period, and raises peak load demands. Establishing a complementary balance of green and gray infrastructure is the key to maximizing a locality’s assets and minimizing the costs of high-energy usage during peak load periods.

When trees cover a substantial portion of the community, the benefits are substantial, but when tree cover is sparse, not only are the benefits reduced but also the stress on existing trees is increased. Communities with excessive amounts of gray infrastructure, which works against the natural cycles of air and water, are more expensive to manage. Communities become hotter and drier as the percentage of gray infrastructure increases.

The decision to establish a green infrastructure in the decision-making process and to balance the gray with the green makes good sense from the financial and the community-health points of view, but striking this balance is a serious challenge for a local government manager.

To achieve a healthy balance of green and gray infrastructure, communities must:

• Designate trees a public utility in the budget process.
• Establish a tree-canopy goal or target (25 to 40 percent tree cover) to be considered as part of every growth, development, and maintenance project.
• Create a formal process for tracking tree cover, and create a data layer devoted to trees in the local government’s geographic information system.
• Adopt public policies, regulations, and incentives to increase and protect green infrastructure.

Adapted from the November 2002 IQ Report Trees: The Green Infrastructure, published by the International City/County Management Association, Washington, D.C. (Item no. 42791). For more information, visit ICMA’s online bookstore at bookstore.icma.org.

Hansell Symposium

In April 2002, noted scholars of U.S. local government met with a group of leading local government administrators at the Hansell Symposium, which was sponsored by the University of Kansas and ICMA to honor former ICMA Executive Director William H. Hansell on the eve of his retirement. The papers presented there, together with thoughtful responses by practicing managers, were brought together in The Future of Local Government Administration: The Hansell Symposium. The book represents the state of the art of academic research into local government and the management profession.

Coverage includes the democratic and political context of local government administration; the changing forms of American cities; the settings, roles, and responsibilities of local government leaders; and prospects for the future of local government management. This volume is an ideal textbook and would be a valuable addition to the library of every manager.

The Future of Local Government Administration: The Hansell Symposium. H. George Frederickson and John Nalbandian, eds. (Washington, D.C.: ICMA, 2002) 250 pages, paperback. (Item no. 42820) $25. ISBN 0-87326-130-5. Order online at bookstore.icma.org.

Interoperability Resources

Here are publications that can be useful to managers as they consider enhancing interoperability in their public safety operations:

ICMA’s MIS Report Siting Wireless Telecommunications: Planning and the Law (1997, 19 pages, Item no. 42187, $14.95) describes policy and management options available to local governments in developing a siting ordinance and working with citizens, service providers, and other local governments.

IQ Report Information and Communications Technology for Public Safety (2000, 19 pages, Hard copy, Item no. 42560, Downloadable e-document E-43009, $14.95) describes information and telecommunications technologies that have applications for public safety. It discusses implementation issues for integrated justice systems, trunked radio systems, global positioning satellite systems, wireless communications, and more. Case studies included.

ICMA’s Clearinghouse Report Communications Planning Report (2001, 122 pages, Item no. 42654, $18.00) concentrates on three areas in upgrading local government communications: voice systems (phones, pagers, fax); audio visual and multimedia systems (public access channel, video conferencing, and police and fire training); and wide/metropolitan area networks (fiber-optic cable infrastructure, leased high-speed telecom services, wireless technology, and Internet access). It provides an analysis of current systems and recommendations, including appendixes.

Special Report Information and Communication Technology in Local Government: A Practical Guide for Managers (2001, 218 pages, Item no. 42673, $40.00) shows how to manage information technology in local government—planning, organizing, contracting, purchasing, networking, servicing—and discusses applications for specific functions.

More information on these publications can be viewed at ICMA’s Bookstore&More Web site at bookstore.icma.org. Secure ordering is available online or call ICMA’s distribution center at 800/745-8780.